Guide to Teaching Memoir Writing Workshops

Do something that you love! Get advice & tools from an expert with over 20 years experience teaching.

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About This Course

Published 10/2015
English

Course Description

Welcome! I hope that you will find teaching and lecturing on lifewriting (memoir writing) as rewarding as I have! I think you will. It is so rewarding to be your own boss – whether you offer workshops to supplement your income or as a full time job, you will find yourself astounded on a daily basis at the incredible rewards that come when you are spending time with some amazing people. As you learn things in this course, feel free to rearrange and change whatever you like. If you have suggestions that I have not thought of, I would love to hear them!

In 1999, I began teaching memoir and journaling classes. I have taught workshops at bookstores, senior centers, libraries, community centers, and to individual groups. You can do this to and be a part of preserving history while making money. While teaching Memoir Writing workshops has the potential to become full-time work, it is more likely that you are taking this course to supplement your income or simply because you love lifewriting. Whatever the reason, you won't be sorry you decided to join hundreds of people around the world who are earning money and hearing amazing lifestories.

Learn how to plan, run, and advertise your memoir writing workshops! You'll find lots of samples for scheduling and marketing. My bonus to you is an ebook with sample handouts you can use in your workshop.

Let's have a look at what this course will cover….

We'll cover what memoir writing is and how it differs from autobiography. We'll have a look at the business side of teaching workshops: overcoming your fear of speaking, advertising, finding venues, materials you need, and how to set fees for your workshops.

In Part 4, we'll talk about what takes place IN the classroom: how to set up the room, what to teach, sample lessons, and other in class matters.

Finally, we'll close out the course with some information on what to do after the workshop ends and ways to encourage your students to publish their work.

Part One: What is Memoir?

The differences between memoir and autobiography

Why should you teach memoir writing?

What participants get out of workshopping

What you get out of workshopping

Sample Workshops - Includes Sample Scheduling handouts that give you sample topics to explore for different workshops and a sample six week schedule outline. You will also find the six week schedule expanded to include step-by-step outline of what you can teach in each session along with suggested exercises for that session.

Overcoming Anxiety

Part Two: Before Workshop

Business Basics

Advertising your workshop

Materials you need for workshop

Finding venues for workshop

Setting fees for your workshop

Duration of workshops

Part Three: Marketing the Workshop

Advertising & Marketing Materials (with samples!)

Press Releases

Interviews

Social Media

Part Four: During the Workshop

Arranging the classroom

What to Teach in Workshop

Introductions

Peer reviewing

Lessons You Can Use!

Constructing the Memoir

Part Five: After the Workshop

Extending the workshop

Following up with participants and venues

Recommended Books and Articles on Autobiography

Promotional Materials you can use in Marketing

Recommended Memoirs you can use in class

As a bonus for participating in this course, you will receive a free copy of my book, Lifetales: A Workbook for Writing Your Lifetales. This is a 135 page workbook that contains articles and tips on memoir writing, as well as all of the handouts (and more!) that you received in this course. The Lifetales Workbook, written by me, is the book that I use in my own memoir workshop. This book generally sells for $15 online, but you get it completely FREE as a downloadable PDF with the purchase of this course.

What are the requirements?

You should be familiar with basic writing techniques and structures

You should be somewhat comfortable speaking with other people, although we will cover overcoming fear of public speaking!

I recommend you create a folder system or a notebook to keep all the ideas organized. This way you will be ready to start teaching your workshop after you finish this course.

What am I going to get from this course?

collect sample handouts and resources to use with your clients

overcome fear of public speaking

locate the materials you need for your workshop

find the best venues to offer your workshops

determine how much to charge

decide what kind of lessons to include

prepare lessons

choose the best seating arrangement for your workshop

find participants for your workshop

create marketing materials

lead a writing peer review

What is the target audience?

This course is suited for those who love writing and want to share that love with others.

This course is suited for those who want to make a bit of money while sharing their love of writing with others.

This course may not be for you if you are looking for help with writing with your own memoir.

This course is definitely for you if you are looking for ideas for marketing and leading a writing workshop.

While this is an excellent career for someone like a businessperson or a teacher, you don't necessarily have to have any experience to lead a workshop.

A workshop of this type is largely facilitated, rather than instructed. What this means is that you will be bringing the material to the participants and sharing it with them. The participants do all the work. You are there to gently guide them, keep them focused, and encourage them to continue.

This is a 135 page workbook that contains articles and tips on memoir writing, as well as all of the handouts (and more!) that you received in this course. This book generally sells for $15 online, but you get it completely FREE as a downloadable PDF with the purchase of this course.

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Instructor Biography

Karen leads workshops in Creative Writing, Poetry and Journal Therapy, and Memoir Writing. She has studied genealogy and personal histories since 1987, lecturing and leading workshops on Memoir Writing and Journaling to the community since 1998. Karen holds a BA in English, an MFA in Creative Writing, and has studied Literature, Business, and Education at the graduate level. She is a former instructor of English Composition and Reading at several community colleges in the United States. In the past, Karen has worked as an editor, a copywriter, a secondary school teacher, an instructional specialist, and a curriculum writer.